Mexico City 2016

In Mexico, the HALE group participated in a seminar on global higher education with faculty from the Departmento de Investigaciones Educativas at Cinvestav, a leading Mexican research institution. Students learned from education faculty at the National Autonomous University, one of the largest and oldest (established in 1551) universities in North America, and from the faculty of Mexico’s largest higher education program at Metoropolitan Autonomous University at Azcapotzalco. The HALE group also toured five other institutions including public, non-profit, and proprietary colleges and universes in order to develop a sense of the higher education “landscape” in the city.

Voices from the HALE Community

"This trip provided a platform to learn how the higher education sector in Mexico is being shaped by glonacal forces and how institutions and students are responding to external and internal pressures. " -Jen Marcy

Jen Marcy

My decision to participate on the trip to Mexico was based upon my professional experience as an international research administrator at Michigan State University and my extensive experience working in the international development field for the past 12 years. I have visited Mexico many times while working on economic growth programs for the U.S. government. I wanted to participate in the program to gain a more nuanced understanding of how Mexican universities operate in our rapidly globalized world. This trip provided access to and understanding of the complex and rapidly changing higher education sector in Mexico, expanding my knowledge of the salient issues facing the Mexican government and institutions that serve a large and growing student population. The HALE students and faculty brought a wide range of experiences and backgrounds to the trip. Learning from my MSU colleagues, as well our Mexican hosts, was an exciting part of the overall experience. 

What surprised me was to find significant similarities between the Mexican and U.S. higher education sectors. Students in Mexico face many of the same issues as U.S. students in terms of college access and affordability. Many university administrators are focused on rankings and the importance of accreditation, and both play a key role in Mexican higher education today. 

As an experienced professional and doctoral student, I am always looking for ways to build my knowledge, capacity, and understanding of how globalization is impacting the global South and emerging economies. This trip provided a platform to learn how the higher education sector in Mexico is being shaped by glonacal (global, national, and local) forces and how institutions and students are responding to external and internal pressures. As a higher education researcher and practitioner, this opportunity exposed me to different systems and ways of knowing outside of the U.S. context.